For 90 minutes, 149 medical students listened 400 times to the five most frequent heart murmurs. The singe practice session improved the rate of detection by stethoscope to 80 percent from 40 percent among generalists.

The study by Temple University cardiologist Michael Barrett, was presented at a meeting of the American College of Cardiology, a gathering of some 30,000 specialists.

The ability to detect heart anomalies is essential to finding a range of cardiac problems and can reduce the number of unnecessary tests like echocardiograms and stress tests, Barrett said.